COLUMN: Hard work is paying off for Leicester City and England star Jamie Vardy

Ricky Charlesworth

If the 28-year-old Leicester City striker hits the net against Manchester United then he will overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy in scoring in the most consecutive amount of Premier League matches.

The sheer fact that Vardy, from Sheffield, is on the verge of such an achievement is all the more remarkable considering his modest start in the game.

His story is now well-known to many but it’s worth going over one more time.

From working at a factory and playing part-time for £30 a match to being a goal away from creating Premier League history, his journey is one of the most fascinating and heartwarming the game has ever seen.

His scoring run this season has put him at the forefront of the national media and in the thoughts of England chief Roy Hodgson.

Come 7.15pm on Saturday we’ll know whether he has indeed become a record breaker.

But regardless of whether he does or not, he is a beacon of light for all players released from professional clubs.

He was freed by boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday for his small stature.

How he has proved to make a mockery of that judgement.

A new wave of footballers are coming through that are the complete opposite of their pampered peers who have enjoyed a lavish lifestyle coming through the ranks of top flight clubs.

Vardy knows what it takes to get to the top.

In an interview recently he attributed hard work as the key factor behind his rise to the top table of English football.

He’s not wrong.

Having seen him in action first hand during his early days at FC Halifax he was a class apart.

However, even admirers wearing the strongest prescription of rose-tinted glasses could not have predicted such a rise through the ranks.

Vardy is hopefully the first of many to make the progression to the very top after starting from near the very bottom.

Saturday could be just another momentous occasion on his incredible journey - and it shows no signs of stopping just yet.

* What do you think of Vardy? Email us at sport.nmsy@jpress.co.uk

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